top of page

About The Global Experience: Belize 2019

My Work Showcase

Home: Welcome

About

Approaches to tropical resource management

My trip to Belize was an unforgettable experience during January of 2019. I took this course as it aligned with my majors, Environmental Studies and Geography and I wanted to gain more travel experience. While in Belize I learned many approaches to tropical resource management and was able to get involved in local communities we visited. During this study abroad we did not have a typical classroom setting as the surrounding environment was our classroom. Each day presented interesting experiences, each of which provided us with tools to combat the impending threat of various environmental changes. During this time we were able to research a topic of our choice in the environment and take a resource management perspective on it. My topic was soil conservation methods in developing countries: what was good and what could be improved upon. The research and experiences I gained on this trip have given me the ability to think globally about my actions and have prompted me to go into a field where I can travel and promote land conservation methods all over the world. This experience will stick with me for a lifetime.

IMG_9993.jpe
Home: About

Experience

​

While in Belize, there were many experiences that gave me a new world perspective. We started off our trip by helping a local environmental group with bird banding to keep track of the birds in Belize as well as their migration patterns. We also visited a couple nature reserves and the world famous Belize Zoo as well as some tourist site locations. While on these various excursions we were tasked with researching a topic of our choice and journaling about our experiences and findings. My topic was researching soil conservation in Belize. I was inspired to do this research as a couple of years earlier in my Politics of Development class we were tasked with making up a NGO project. Here I created an initiative to work with soil erosion and land degradation in Afghanistan. I chose this area because it was a developing country that lacked the resources and knowledge to self sustain their agriculture system and there was already previous work going on through the United States NRCS (Natural resource conservation service). When in Belize I thought of this project and wanted to research something similar in this region then compare the two countries. Below is the link to the previous Afghanistan project. During these outings I took many photos and notes about what was being done to conserve and nurture the soil and then thought about what tactics could be implemented to help. Some other experiences included learning about Mayan culture by visiting some of the old Mayan ruins and participating in chocolate making as well as a traditional Mayan ceremony. This was an amazing experience that gave me personal insight to the Mayan culture as well as natural remedies and conservation techniques the Maya have developed. During the excursions we participated in we also gave back to the communities. We participated in an ocean reef clean up where we cleaned up about 100 pounds of trash. We also went to a local elementary school and donated school supplies to the children. It is hard to put into words how much knowledge that was actually gained on this trip. This trip taught me about culture, environmental aspects of developing countries, government actions in developing countries, preservation, tropical plants, animals & resources. Pictured below is an example of exposed soil sites I was looking for when on this trip. This is a perfect example of an area where the soil has been weathered and eroded away. My goal was to document these areas and assess the soil health of the country as well as ideas to help prevent soil loss. What I found was that due to the lack of rules and regulations many landowners or business go with the cheapest route when building or farming. The cheapest route is often the most detrimental to the soil health.

IMG_0162.jpeg
Home: Text

Impacts

Thinking globally

As mentioned previously, it is hard to put into words how much I have learned. By far the biggest thing I learned while on this trip was to think globally in my everyday actions. The focus of this trip was resource management in tropical ecosystems and while learning about these management styles we learned about the causes of environmental degradation and the need for conservation. Human interaction was the biggest influencing factor in the destruction of the environment. It was clear from our research projects in Belize that our everyday actions can add up to enormous consequences. For example, during our ocean reef clean up we found trash particles from all over the world and throughout time. One piece of plastic said it was made in Japan in 2004. This goes to show that our actions and consumption can stay in our environment for long time periods and impact others. When thinking about human interaction about the environment when I returned from this trip I was inspired and took a Latin America class to learn more about the Latin culture to figure out their impacts. Here I conducted a final research paper focusing on the collapse of the Mayan Culture. While in Belize we learned a lot about the Mayan culture as this culture used to reside in parts of Belize. When researching for this paper in my class I was able to pull on knowledge from the trip as well as new knowledge from the class. I came to find out the main reason for the collapse of this culture was due to environmental forces caused by human interference in the environment. Alongside of this paragraph is the link to the research paper.


One may ask why we should care about our environment. It was not until this trip that I found the true beauty in Earth. During our time in Belize we went on various night hikes. On our first hike we were told to turn off our flashlights until we were all grouped and ready to start. Upon starting our hike we could turn on our flashlights and it opened my eyes to this beautiful sea of glitter. I was amazed, I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life. Wherever my flashlight pointed all I could see was glitter, gorgeous glitter shimmering in the dew covered grass. I asked the guide why there was glitter everywhere and he told me what I was seeing was spider eyes. I had always been deathly afraid spiders growing up, but this was true beauty. The sea of glittery spider eyes was one of Earth’s natural beauties and made me realize how these insects are impacted by little actions. 


Another site we traveled to see was the Chalillo Dam on the Macal River. This was a site we had read about prior to our trip in the book The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw. The book follows one woman's fight to protect the endangered scarlet macaw. The young, corrupt government of Belize was trying to put in a dam that would threaten one of the last breeding grounds of the birds. The dam ended up being put in due to corrupt forces and pushed the birds to near extinction. While touring this dam it gave me time to reflect on our actions once again. Our constant need to have more and more of our lives plugged in to an outlet has forced a native species out of their comfortable habitat in this case. For myself I would not like to be forced out of my home for the need of others. This trip has shown me many things and have impacted my life indefinitely. 

Home: Text

Future

Studying abroad has given me the knowledge and confidence to chase my dreams. This trip really solidified my future intentions to study new and innovative soil conservation techniques in developing countries, as well as land changes due to human interaction and natural phenomena. To do this I aspire to finish a Master’s degree to fully educate myself in this area of study and gain more research experience. Once I have my degree, then I would like to conduct more research through experiences like the Peace Corps and teaching higher education about my findings in the hope of inspiring others to do the same. I plan on traveling a lot more in the future as it has proved to give me worlds of knowledge.

IMG_9841.jpg
Home: Text
Home: Pro Gallery

"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?"

Vincent van Gogh

Home: Quote

Get in Touch

Interested in learning more about me, my experience? Feel free to reach out anytime, I would be more than happy to chat.

​

Brianna Beseler

41 W 4th st Bufalo City, WI 54622

(507) 429-1068

Home: Contact
bottom of page